For Squirrels difficult to dose w antibiotics

[Kat762]

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've been here ( crappy summer with medical problems all summer & fall, blah blah etc ) anyway, I'm getting better now and miss TSB . My grey Andi is doing great ( she's 7 1/2 now = )
I've been trying to read and catch up and in the process came across several stories regarding squirrels who were difficult if not impossible to dose their needed antibiotics.
I had told my story a few times before, but I want to put this info out here again ( maybe an admin could make an edited sticky, I wasn't even sure which thread to put this in )
Several years back my Andi developed an oral infection so horrid it nearly killed her ( I suspect the vet didn't wash his hands when he trimmed her teeth one day and infected her ) anyway it's a long story of months of trying to heal her ( it was an issue dosing her antibiotics ) Finally the vet contacted a compounding pharmacy in New Jersey and they compounded Baytril into a cream . I would rub the cream on her ear ( the inside of the ear but not inside the canal ) she loves ear rubs so that was easy.The medicine is absorbed through the skin,( transdermal ) like a nicotine patch or pain med patch.
It is called Enrofloxacin transdermal gel twist dose.
Enrofloxacin is baytril.The twist dose is-it comes in like a tube with lines on the side marking amounts ( like a syringe ) and it gives your instructions how many times you twist it for the correct dosage to come out.It's so easy.I can tell you that without this, I would not have a squirrel today.I am not in a friendly state, they shipped it to my vet and I picked it up there.Funny, it had her name on it, and then it said " species- Other " LOL. I don't know what he said it was for.
I used it again last year she was sneezing and congested, I didn't want her to develop pneumonia, so we ordered some and she cleared up.
I know this is long and rambling, so maybe an admin can clean this up and sticky the basics but I feel it's something everyone should have access to.There may be other compounding pharmacies but this is the one I know of with this gel thing. ( my own vet tried compounding into flavored liquids, she wouldn't have any part of that ! )
http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/

[CritterMom]

This place: http://www.pet-scripts.com/ does the same thing. Happily, they are only about half an hour from me, and I have used them a number of times for my parrot meds. I have never heard of the topical baytril, though:thumbsup

[JLM27]

I can just see me rubbing my wilds ears with gel! :eek:

I infuse avocado chunks with the sulfatrim. Jackie taught me to make it less diluted. The same dose, but less water so that it will not run out. This works on the wilds if they come regularly. Problem is, some of the injured have come to me and then didn't stay long enough for the whole dose. Part of the problem is that the healthy guys run them off. Instinct, I guess. They wind up having to live somewhere that is not occupied by anyone stronger. However, this was successful with Princess because she kept coming.

[mugzeezma]

There is a very simple formula to figure the dose if you know what the recommended dose rate is for that particular medication.
I have charts and books with all of that info but I won't post it for reasons of safety. Discussed this with a Wildlife vet

out here in IL we have this place...haven't needed it but here is the link:

check the volume ... intermittent animal noises, kind of funny

http://www.martinavenue.com/animal_med/index.html

[Kat762]

This is great,:thumbsup hope people who need this info will find it:thankyou

JLM, I am ROFL:rotfl :rotfl :rotfl picturing you running after a wild trying to rub it's ear :poke OMG ! :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl I was thinking more of indoor squirrels:rotfl :rotfl

The avocado chunks sounds awesome ! Never gave any to my wilds, are they just as crazy for it ? They may be getting a special treat then tomorrow:thumbsup

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

We were learning about this type thing in organic chemistry. I am guessing that your meds. were DMSO with the baytril mixed in. If you have a fiesty guy that you can't get oral meds into, you could add it to DMSO (which I saw on Chris's site) and then rub it on the squirrel and it would absorb through the skin. I think with that there is risk of infections though, because the DMSO allows the skin to be permeable not only to the meds, but also bacteria, dirt, etc. At least that's what I gathered from the quickie discussion of it in O. Chem. They use it in horses a lot. You still need to have the dosage, but that's not hard to calculate, especially if you have the mammal babies book :thumbsup

[mugzeezma]

We were learning about this type thing in organic chemistry. I am guessing that your meds. were DMSO with the baytril mixed in. If you have a fiesty guy that you can't get oral meds into, you could add it to DMSO (which I saw on Chris's site) and then rub it on the squirrel and it would absorb through the skin. I think with that there is risk of infections though, because the DMSO allows the skin to be permeable not only to the meds, but also bacteria, dirt, etc. At least that's what I gathered from the quickie discussion of it in O. Chem. They use it in horses a lot. You still need to have the dosage, but that's not hard to calculate, especially if you have the mammal babies book :thumbsup

I was wondering about DMSO as well
and you are somewhat correct on the capacity to carry bacteria. I've pondered that one as well but never saw it happen on my horses.
WHen applying DMSO mixed with medication, or any medication that is penetrable in a this fashion, is to avoid using your bare hands to apply it.

DMSO works fast and leaves a taste of garlic in your mouth

[JLM27]

Great! If I rubbed their ears and made them taste GARLIC, they would bite me for sure! I'd bite you if you did that to me!

[Kat762]

You are right Squirrels Rule, I went to the pharmacy site and looked it up, you get an A for this class:thumbsup
And as far as carrying bacteria,:dono I didn't wear gloves because it freaked her out when I tried, but I always washed my hands before applying it.It was our last hope and it worked.She stopped eating and became ill the middle of March ( Ides of March ) and was pronounced " cured " the beginning of August = ( She was a fat 2 lbs when she got sick, 1 lb at the end, lost half her body weight.The only food she ate the entire time was watermelon,the vet tried mixing up baytril with watermelon flavoring ( and every other flavor too ), no go. I took her in for fluids every other day and she would also get a steroid/antibiotic injection, but she * cannot * be worked on so had to be ISO'd each time. I used to work for this vet so he gave me a break, but still had to charge me, the ISO was the most expensive part. Every single day I was surprised to find her still alive, and didn't know how much longer she could go on.When he ordered the gel, it was a two week course, 2x a day and at the end of the two weeks she was all better !:wahoo
( Looking back I don't know how either one of us got through that, I lost 11 pounds myself ) Of course that didn't last LOL !

[stillSquarlet]

I just read this info and wanted to say:
DANG! I sure wish someone would have done this cream thing for Squarlet when she was in need of Baytril before her surgery!
Giving her shots and squirting it down her throat by force was the most difficult thing ever!
She still has white fur in the spots that got "burned" from those shots... even diluted Baytril burned her. I hate to think about what it did to her little throat!
This is good info that I will keep in mind if I ever have to medicate her again.
:thumbsup
:thankyou

[gs1]

this is brilliant!!! glad it was unearthed again.:thumbsup

so sorry about squarlet and baytril damage... i hope she's better now? she did eventually heal? so she's swallowing fine? :grouphug

[Jmsgreenville]

After a pretty severe bite and completely stressing the poor little guy out I found another easy way to medicate. I use the baytril 10% so I don't have to use a large amount. Put dose in a 1cc syringe and then coat the end with peanut butter. He was so interested in getting the. Peanut butter off the dose went down quickly. Did it again with metacam and he didn't even know he'd been fooled

[Gardentoes11]

I am very happy to learn about this! Had a sick baby who eventually stopped taking anything by mouth. Maybe this would've helped. Lost him, but he left me with a strong desire to learn as much as possible to help his big brother if he ever gets sick, & to become a rehabber officially! This info I'm sure will come in handy. Ordered some DMSO just now to have on hand.

[Mennome]

Glad to have run across this thread also. Good info.

[Milo's Mom]

I'm glad this thread is back up, as there is valuable info here. BUT, I do caution everyone; wear gloves if your going to dose meds this way!

Kat, the original poster of this thread and I are friends offline. I asked her about this rubbing Baytril on the ears thing and how long she's been having these awful headaches she suffers from. It was a number of years....coincidentally Andi was on and off Baytril for a number of years throughout her life.

About 4 months after Andi passed away I asked Kat about her headaches....she couldn't remember the last time she had one.

PLEASE WEAR GLOVES!!!!! Baytril, specifically, can be deadly to humans.